New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Stop calling it a "perfect storm" when two bad things happen at the same time..." (more)
Key Phrases: George Bush, President Bush, Super Bowl (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book Description:
Bill Maher is on the forefront of the new wave of comedians who have begun to influence and shape political debate through their comedy. He is best known not just for being funny, but for advocating truth over sensitivity and taking on the political establishment. Maher first came to national attention as the host of the hit ABC-TV program Politically Incorrect, where he offered a combustible mixture of irreverence and acerbic humor that helped him to garner a loyal following, as well as a reputation for being a controversial bad boy.

Bill Maher's popular new HBO television show, Real Time, has put Maher more front and center than ever before. Particularly one regular segment on the show, entitled "New Rules," has been a hit with his ever-growing legion of fans. It is the part of the show during which Maher takes serious aim, bringing all of his intelligence, incisiveness, wit, and his signature exasperation to bear on topics ranging from cell phones ("I don't need my cell phone to take pictures or access the Internet. I just need it to make a phone call. From everywhere! Not just the places it likes!") to fast food ("No McDonald's in hospitals. I'm not kidding!) to the conservative agenda ("Stop claiming it's an agenda. It's not an agenda. It's a random collection of laws that your corporate donors paid you to pass.")

His new book, the first since his bestselling When You Ride Alone You Ride with bin Laden, brings these brilliantly conceived riffs and rants to the written page. Appropriately titled New Rules, the book will collect some of the best of the rules derived from previously written material and will also contain substantial new material, including some longer form "editorials"--of course with a twist and bite that only Bill Maher can deliver.

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Rule Breaker: An Amazon.com Interview with Bill Maher

In New Rules: Polite Musings of a Timid Observer, Bill Maher skewers celebrity, pop culture, and politics in his classic acerbic style. With a new season of Real Time with Bill Maher and an upcoming HBO Special (his sixth), Bill Maher: I'm Swiss, on deck, Maher also found the time to host Amazon.com's 10th Anniversary Concert at Seattle's Benaroya Hall. Amazon.com caught up with Maher upon his return to Los Angeles to talk about the book, the comic's night-table reading habits, the Internet, and what's wrong with the media.

Read our Amazon.com interview with Bill Maher

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More from Bill Maher

Books:
When You Ride Alone You Ride with bin Laden	Does Anybody Have a Problem with That?	True Story: A Novel

DVDs:
Bill Maher: I'm Swiss (DVD)	Bill Maher: Victory Begins at Home (DVD)	Bill Maher: Be More Cynical (DVD)

From Publishers Weekly

The new rules TV host Maher establishes for "a self-obsessed, success-by-any-means, get-mine culture" make a convincing case for Maher's claim that everyone but him is crazy. Zingers about fads like low-carb dieting and flat-screen televisions ("Congratulations-you just paid $10,000 to watch Hogan's Heroes") poke fun at appearance-obsessed, megalomaniacal American consumers, and his takes on current news stories such as Jennifer Wilbanks, the runaway bride from Georgia, and the popular television shows Desperate Housewives and Growing Up Gotti ("You don't get a TV show because Grandpa killed people") are clever jabs at the media and the entertainment industry. But Maher is at his best when he addresses controversial political issues by making a serious point without sacrificing the wisecracks. He slips a cheeky remark about George Bush's past into his discussion of brutal conditions in prisons, and points out that the No Child Left Behind law has created "pushouts": poor-performing students who Maher says schools put in "phony categories like 'transferred' or 'enrolled in GED' or 'dating Demi Moore'" in order to meet requirements to receive federal funding. Though Maher's rules are sometimes just whiny (he complains about room service personnel not knowing what kind of soup is available) and he repeats a few tired jokes (variations of "you want to spend your millions on a worthless cause, try donating it to the Democrats" appear several times), his views on the state of contemporary political and social culture are bound to cause a few laugh-out-loud moments.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (July 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594862958
• ISBN-13: 978-1594862953
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (181 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #308,040 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Rules, Rules!, September 30, 2007

By	!Edwin C. Pauzer (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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This review is from: New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer (Hardcover)

Bill Maher, ascerbic comedian, claims that we all lived by rules, even if the rules were just "Stay off the grass," or "Don't Feed the Ducks." So, new rules becomes his signature before each witticism. For example, according to Maher, the best way for terrorism to be defeated is to ensure that the terrorists all receive plenty of sex. He suggests, "New rule: We need to mobilize two divisions of skanks,... a brigade of girls who just can't say no--all under the command of Colonel Ann Coulter, who'll be dressed in her Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S. uniform. Girls, there's a cure for terrorism and your...it."

Such comedic salvos are pithy, creative, and irreverent. Maher's language is often salty, and everyone and everything is grist for his mill. Although decidedly anti-Bush, he takes potshots at democrats alike, and most importantly, at himself. "... Something is very wrong when the only one fired over terrorism is me." (Too many times people turned their attention toward me to find out why I suddenly laughed out loud).

It would help the reader to have already heard Maher's voice and delivery. It might give each joke more impact. Nevertheless, this man's star is on the rise, and so is his book.

"New Rules," rules!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Real Time" on your time..., August 12, 2005

By	Scott Bresinger (New York, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First off, you should know that despite the page count of 230, a good deal of that is empty space. No, I'm not talking about the content, wise guy, but the actual empty space surrounding the content. Taken mostly from Maher's show-ending one liners and rants on his HBO talker "Real Time with Bill Maher," mostly these are little nuggets of comedic vitriol, often accompanied by photos to help sell the joke. Here's one entry in its entirety: "New Rule: Former drug addicts and alcoholics have to stop saying, "I almost died." No. Cancer survivors almost died. You almost had a good time." some are a bit longer; some are even shorter. Each chapter ends with a page-or-so long rant that lets him break into something resembling his standup act. As you might guess, politics is a favorite subject, and his opinions, often falsely catagorized as liberal, are really a kind of Las Vegas/Rat Pack brand of libertarianism. Republicans are bullies and busybodies, but Democrats are spineless and unorganized. Both are liars. Of course, where Maher really picks up the blue state support is when he comments on "values issues" like gay marriage (for) or the war on drugs (against). Then there's the matter of religion. Always irreverant, lately his humor has targeted all the stupid things that "people of faith" do, from Christians to Muslims. To quote: "Pat Robertson is insane. Just because he smiles and wears a nice suit doesn't mean he's any less of a whack job than all those wild-eyed, urine stained nut bags who babble on street corners about Jesus through a bullhorn." Then there's this: "If you don't want the world to think your religion is medieval, stop beheading people. Texans are bloodthirsty and dim, and even they learned to use an electric chair. Come on, Islam. Join the nineteenth century." If any of that offended you, maybe those "Left Behind" books are more your speed. They made me laugh almost as much as "New Rules."

If you're a regular "Real Time" viewer then most of this will be pretty familiar. There's some new material, but mostly this is recycled. Not to mention the fact that takes on subjects like "runaway bride" Jennifer Willbanks and Scott Peterson will be baffling by the time this hits paperback. Still, I found myself laughing again at jokes I heard on the show, so Maher's wit lasts at least that long. Also, you can read it in just a couple of hours! It's a rather slight book even when compared to other celebrity efforts, such as Jon Stewart's "America: The Book," but Maher makes a lot more sense than say, his friend (I'm not kidding!) Ann Coulter. If you're a "blue state" person trapped in a "red state," this would be pretty much essential. Of course, as an elitist New Yorker, I'm probably just "out of touch."

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, December 14, 2005

By	Colin Smith "colin44691" (Wooster, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was wondering if I'd like this book since I've seen "New Rules" on TV many times already. But I decided to buy it anyway. There is a lot of stuff I haven't seen ... probably because I missed it. And it is very funny. I also like the fact that it is not one continuous book, but really a lot of pages and sections. I'll read a page or section when I feel like it. And I'm always amused. If you like Bill Maher, you'll enjoy this book.